


Intelligence

by Queen_Kit



Series: Snippits of Life [2]
Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, GFY, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-29
Updated: 2016-01-29
Packaged: 2018-05-16 22:57:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5844238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queen_Kit/pseuds/Queen_Kit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was a matter of utmost urgency</p>
            </blockquote>





	Intelligence

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Snippits of Life](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/171976) by QueenKit. 



> This is a reworking of an old piece of mine done in July 2010 which is located on FFN

Their mission was of the utmost importance, failure was unacceptable.

Brown eyes surveyed the barriers before her, a frown marring her face as she determined if the tools she had available would be adequate for escape.  Her eyes slid to her cellmate and co-conspirator in this endeavor.  Perhaps she wouldn’t be able to do it alone, but as long as he was by her side anything was possible.  There was a reason that few in the Empire were unintelligent enough to make the mistake of leaving them in the same cell twice.

Maybe she was overconfident, maybe she was too laid back considering her circumstances, but by this time being held prisoner by the officers of the Galactic Empire was rather old hat for this little princess.  Eyeing the ceiling now she could see exactly what she needed.

“The vents?”  She turned back to her cellmate, pleased when the blond nodded.

“Unguarded.”  He replied quietly, blue eyes opening and calmly meeting her gaze.  “We haven’t used that route for a few months.  I suppose they thought they could be lax.”

She knew what he wasn’t saying.  They were certain that they had given up the route as a bad job for good.  They really should have known better.

“Gather your things and go.  I’ll maintain a presence here so they don’t realize you’ve left.”

Less than five minutes later Leia had opened the vent and helped her partner through.  Hopefully all would go well. He knew how to contact her if the mission became too dangerous to remain solo.  The vent in the ceiling remained open, waiting in case it all fell apart.

\---

For one precious hour everything went according to plan, but then a she felt a warning trill from the force.  It appeared that their intelligence reports had been inaccurate, that one person in the world who could pick her partner out was on his way to the meeting.  He would never be able to get out on time and they couldn’t afford to be discovered.  This was their last chance to get the information they needed before it was beyond their grasp forever.

Her decision was made; she had to rescue her comrade from discovery.  Their knowledge of certain pieces of information could not fall into the wrong hands.

She jumped up to the vent, crawling inside.  It was risky, but she would have to be his distraction.

She crept along as quietly as possible taking first one left, then two, and straight past one tricky intersection.  Then it was smooth sailing until the next one where, bearing right, she gazed down and knew she had reached her destination.  She could hear the enemy approaching, speaking with a few of his officers.  She silently removed the vent leading into the hall below, just managing to draw it up into the vent alongside her before such an action would have been seen.   She calmed her breathing, reaching almost a meditative state as she waited for the right moment to arrive; her quarry passed her location without noticing.

Leia dropped down to the floor, landing with a silent, cat-like grace.  The faint traces of a smirk curled on her lips, not one of them turned in her direction.  She stalked closer, bracing herself in preparation for her next move – and then struck.

In a lightning fast move she leapt to tackle her, much larger, opponent; her arms wrapping around his neck as she shouted her battle cry.

\----

“DADDY!”  The single word was shouted our just as shrilly and childishly as she could muster.  Really it was quite a feat for the eight year old child whose voice was most often as low and level as her mother’s had been at her best.

There was a long pause where the only sound was the ominous in and out from Vader’s respirator, before there was a sound something like a sigh.

“Leia.” The deep bass was laced through with stern disapproval, however it lacked the terrifying anger that would have been directed towards any of his normal peers should he disapprove of them.  “What have I told you about interrupting my meetings with the Senior Officers?”

“Not too.”  She replied casually, still hanging off his neck like an extra cape.

There was another beat of silence as Vader radiated his disapproval to everyone around.  “I believe I have also made it clear what my policies for toleration of such foolish antics are.”

“We are always to behave in a decorous manner in adhesion to the social roles expected of us as children of the Heir of the Empire.  If we will not behave as is appropriate we will be confined to our rooms until such time as we have learned our lesson.”

“Then explain to me what precisely you are doing and why.”  If this was another attempt at spying on the more important meetings being held in the building it was not one of her better ones.  Luke was typically the one who would just burst in and hope to manage it from there, making a scene and being obviously where he should not be.

“Um, ahhh….”  It looked like he had managed to catch her.  Whatever she  was up to she hadn’t planned a cover story for it.  She was an excellent strategist and politician for only being eight standard, but to that same fact she _was_ only eight-standard.  She didn’t always have the same foresight an adult in her position might have.  She had a long way to go before she would reach the sort of skill Padme had before her death.

Anakin closed his eyes and prayed to the force for patience.  It was a virtue that had never come easily to him and now, when he needed it more than ever, he found patience hardest to achieve.  There were many things that had been sacrificed to the darkness.  Still he loved his children, despite the chaos they so often brought into his life.

“Lieutenant Piett.”

“Yes, my Lord?” The officer in question snapped to attention.

Piett was one of the few exemplary officers that Vader had found from the academy.  One of the few Anakin thought he might be able to trust.  He had personally been training and grooming Piett for a promotion.  This was why he had been escorting him to this meeting, despite the fact that he had yet to earn his promotion to Captain.  Not that the promotion would be long in coming if he had his way, he was quite eager to slip the man into the – soon to be vacated – position of Captain of his flagship.

“Please escort Miss Skywalker to her room.”  Large black gloved hands reached up and gently unfastened the girl’s arms from his neck, judicious use of the force ensured that she floated around in front of him.  She hung there with a petulant scowl on her face.

“You may have whatever assistance you require to _ensure_ she remains within them until I have time to deal with her-”  He paused, his eyes narrowing as he caught a hint of another elusive presence in the force  “-with _them_ rather.”

He didn’t wait for a reply. Instead Vader stalked down the hall, his anger seeming to be on a very short leash as he approached the conference room, Piett and the other officers hurrying after him.  Leia drifted along with them, held in her father’s power with the force her scowl deepening as she realized that she hadn’t distracted her father well enough after all.

Force Anakin loved his children, really he did, and he was proud that they were already learning to use the force and think for themselves.  However they were going to cause quite a lot of problems if they didn’t reign in their impulses to spy.  It was trouble enough to keep them alive when they were laying low and not staging a childish rebellion.  The best way to cover his fondness and keep them safe was to display only the anger that was proper of Vader.

“Luke.”  The world came out almost as a growl filled with a promise of later punishment.

The boy quailed, shrinking back further under the conference table where he had been eavesdropping.  Vader beckoned, a small motion with his right hand, and the boy slid out to hover before him much as his sister was.

“This behavior is unacceptable.”  The data recorder was found and destroyed.  Let the officers think his children needed that device to have a record.  The children had earned what they had learned and Luke would remember well enough.  He didn’t necessarily approve of it, but what was done was done.

The boy swallowed.  “Yes father.”

Both children were abruptly deposited in front of Lieutenant Piett, who turned his own stern gaze on them.  There had been for just a moment the faintest twitch of a smile on his lips, but the man was a good officer.  He knew when discipline was required.  Mirth could come later in private, Anakin approved.

“Take them out of my sight and make sure they remain in their rooms.”

“As you wish, my lord.”  Piett replied with a short bow before offering his hands to the children to help them stand.  “Come now.”

Small hands were folded into larger ones, the Lieutenant’s grip firm without being needlessly painful.  He took pride in being trusted with what he knew were Vader’s most precious possessions and he wasn’t about to screw it up.

As Piett gently escorted Anakin’s wayward children from the room he just happened to catch a snatch of conversation that made him want to groan.

“I guess that didn’t work so well, Leia.”  Luke, apology written in every word he spoke.  How his son had wound up such a soft child was beyond him.  Then again Lei was hard headed enough for the two of them, and Luke was enough to manage with his somewhat reckless nature.

“Just you wait, Luke.”  He could imagine the look on Leia’s face, so much like her mother when she had a brilliant idea coming.  “I’ll have an even better plan next week.”

Life had been so much simpler before he had children, and yet, it had never been quite so worth living.


End file.
